Now this a relationship I know people want to talk about without the concern of men in their lives. When I first read their stories together I thought wow they are such cute friends and dependent on each other. In a way the two of them together made me think that heck this could be the ideal "friendship" that alot of people look for. It really surprised me how much they meant to each other once Ren and Takumi came into their lives. This was were their friendship was tested to its limits and despite the different sides they were on they still believed and supported each other. NANA became obessed with making sure hachi stays by her side but as we have seen in the flash forwards she lets her live her life and always asks herself if she is happy.
The same for hachi, In the beginning she was so spoiled by other people that it was impossible for her to learn from her mistakes. When she meant NANA that changed, because from the way I saw it for the first time she was making a real effort to change herself and had someone she looked up to as a role model. When Takumi called Nobu she had more of a reaction to takumi talking to her than nobu.
But through all that mess they got through it and their friendship became stronger. Its amazing how much of an impact they have on each other lives that in a funny way I sort of view NANA as a love story between the friendship of hachi and NANA. Despite some negative reaction from people about hachi staying in Japan for NANA instead of going to London with Takumi, I found it so deep and touching how she was willing to choose NANA over her family. I know its also attribute to the problems her and takumi have, but it in my opinion her strongest reason for staying in Japan.

i know that most of us would want to have such a deep connection to someone on a friendship basis because finding friends who would truly accept each others good or bad attributes is a very hard to find because unfortunately we live in a very judgemental world. Nana and Hachi friendship is something rare and deep that deserves a a decent ending and I hope yazawa-san gives them a suitable ending they deserve.

what do you guys think? remember this is all about friendship so the men in their can be talked about as well but it has to be put in the context of their friendship ^_^ Alright lets goo!!!!

I kept saying that, but every time I say it someone always shot me down saying how much AWESOME Nana's and Ren's love for each other was cuz they have that whole "i'll kill myself for you" thing going on, and how much Nobu is made for Hachi!
*gags self with spoon* YECK! All wrong. I think Nana and Hachi were the main attraction here, and really the guys were props to hide the girls love undertones xD

MY REASONS:

In reality, when you read it, Nana O. SAYS she'll kill herself for Ren, but in REALITY she did not kill herself when Ren died- no instead she holed up in the house and demanded that Hachi never leave her side. And to make matters interesting, she only moved when she thought Nobu made her precious Hachi cry- so she jumped up and kicked his ass stating "all men should die!" xDD If that didn't prove that really this is a GIRLS love story I don't know what else could the author do.

Also, maybe it's cuz I personally was never a Ren fan really- I feel like Ren doing drugs would've affected Nana O, she's really impressionable by him (dressing like him, acting like him, etc) despite her having her pride issues, and she's really very sensitive (panic attacks, freaking whenever Hachi is with another person). I felt that if Ren still lived that their romance would've went south and turned into a Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain type thing, if ya know what I mean....and if you really want to get technical Sid and Nancy was the original Court and Kurt, so personally I thought Ren was bad influence. If Ren wasn't as weak as he was (yes, i felt Ren was somewhat weak and emotionally unstable- the same as Nana O. is in a sense) Then I believe he could've been the rock to keep things solid in Nana's life.

I liked seeing Nana and Hachi together because more then anything they usually brought out the best in each other, without evening trying, and to me- Nana O. was more emotionally stable when it comes to being around Hachi. And if you noticed Hachi tries to do for self more when she's around Nana. So to me, that's what made their relationship so unique and deep.

In reality I feel like Ai Yazawa freaked out. In Paradise Kiss she broke record for attempting to use a bi character in her manga- but if you noticed no scenes were involved, it was very subtle so you had to put two and two together.
So I feel like Ai probably was lingering to the yuri route at first but she chickened and turned it into a shoujo-ai, josei type thing= Something that would be very subtle, garner a lot of attention, and noone would notice that originally it shouldve been yuri lol.

I swear, I think Nana and Hachi are a wayyyyy better couple together. I'm not saying it should go all out lesbo at the end- I'm just stating the facts (no offence xD). They seem so miserable without each other, and they really do keep each other grounded. Maybe in the end they'll just continue this close platonic thing they have going on, or maybe they drifted so far apart over the years they would realize they don't need each other the way they used to need each other..... Or maybe they'll just end up like Gayle and Oprah? Dating men but relying on each other for everything except sex?

....gawd hurry up Yazawa-sama!!! this is too much thinking for us fans!!!!!!!!

*okay- you don't have to hurry- just tell us the ending already!!!!!

**i swear I got so depressed when Nana disappeared after Ren died....I was soooo certain she was going to confess to Hachi lol (a silly fangirl moment!!!)....It was funny though when she told Hachi she was gonna take care of the baby and Hachi immediately thought 'Whoa, is this a confession?!?!"
lol that totally made my day.

I do think that there is a romance between Hachi and Nana... there are many forms of love after all, so it isn't something sexual between them. What they have is a really deep bond and I always found it both sweet and terrifying (because they are very dependent and jealous at times). I hope they are reunited, it does break my heart all the pain both of them have been through! It's really very sad and so realistic that guys essentially ruined their friendship. That happens so often in real life.